What's New (SQL Server 2008 R2)

In Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, several components have new or improved features. Other components have not changed since SQL Server 2008. Those components offer features that were new or enhanced in that release.

PowerPivot for SharePoint adds shared services and infrastructure for loading, querying, and managing PowerPivot workbooks that you publish to a SharePoint 2010 server or farm. To create PowerPivot workbooks, you use PowerPivot for Excel.

PowerPivot for Excel is an add-in to Excel 2010 that can be downloaded from the web and installed on client workstations. You use PowerPivot for Excel to assemble and create relationships in large amounts of data from different sources, and then use that data as the basis for PivotTables and other data visualization objects that support data analysis in Excel.

The SQL Server Utility forms a central repository for performance data and management policies that tailor the operation of instances of the Database Engine that have been enrolled in the utility. It also includes a Utility Explorer for centralized management, and dashboards that report the state of the managed instances. A data-tier application (DAC) forms a single unit for developing, deploying, and managing the database objects used by an application.

Master Data Services is comprised of a database, configuration tool, Web application, and Web service that you use to manage your organization's master data and maintain an auditable record of that data as it changes over time. You use models and hierarchies to group and organize data to prepare it for further use in business intelligence and reporting tools, data warehouses, and other operational systems. Master Data Services integrates with source systems and incorporates business rules to become the single source of master data across your organization.

Reports can now include maps, sparklines, data bars, and indicators to depict data. Report parts enable collaboration through shared datasets, report items, and data regions that are centrally stored and managed. Dataset query results can be cached on first use or by schedule. SharePoint integration supports multiple SharePoint Zones, SharePoint Universal Logging, and local mode report viewing with Access Services and SharePoint lists. SharePoint lists, SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse, and SQL Azure Database can be used as data sources for reports.